Kings Island announces Banshee!

As you know, I am an amusement park enthusiast! I try to visit all the parks that I can and ride as many of their rides as possible. Luckily, my kids also love amusement parks and rides. The nearest amusement park is Kings Island - so we usually try to purchase season passes and visit often.

Today I am thrilled because Kings Island has announced plans for a screaming new world record-breaking inverted roller coaster coaster to open in 2014! Banshee!

Also, I want whatever program they used to create this virtual Kings Island! I have Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 - and can't create anything as amazing as the park in this birds-eye view.

So, who wants to ride this terrifyingly awesome looking coaster with me?

KINGS ISLAND, Ohio – The longest inverted steel roller coaster in the world, “Banshee,” will make its debut at Kings Island in April of 2014.

The first female-inspired thrill ride at a Cedar Fair Entertainment Company amusement park, Banshee will send riders screaming through 4,124.1 feet of track and seven mind-bending inversions at speeds up to 68 miles per hour during the 2-minute, 40-second ride.

Built over hilly terrain and incorporating the most exciting features of the very best inverted roller coasters in the world, Banshee will feature several unique elements that distinguish the ride from others.

The ride begins with a lift taking riders up to the maximum height of 167 feet. After plunging down 150 feet, riders will go through a dive loop, followed by a vertical loop, zero gravity roller, two batwing inversions, a second vertical loop and a 170-foot long heartline finale.

Two of the most unique features about Banshee are the massive size of every loop, and unlike other roller coasters, the top speed isn’t reached until halfway through the ride’s course.

Since Banshee’s lift hill is on a higher elevation of terrain than the other side of the ride that goes down into a valley, the total elevation change is 208 feet from the highest point at the top of the lift hill to the lowest point, which is the bottom of the batwing between loops four and five.

Passengers will be seated in cars four across. A total of three trains, each containing eight cars, will enable Banshee to accommodate approximately 1,650 riders per hour.

“Banshee reflects our commitment to providing the best in world-class thrills and value for our guests and is an investment in the Ohio tourism industry,” Kings Island’s vice-president and general manager Greg Scheid said. “People from around the world will plan a visit to Ohio next summer specifically to experience this ride."

Banshee will be the 15th roller coaster at Kings Island, which is home to some of the top-ranked roller coasters in annual industry and enthusiast polls including The Beast and Diamondback, and represents the biggest new product investment in the park’s 41-year history at $24 million.

Banshee was designed by Bolliger and Mabillard of Monthey, Switzerland, one of the premier leaders in roller coaster development. Since 1990, B&M have designed a number of ground-breaking and critically acclaimed roller coasters. In fact, B&M features 14 of the top 25 roller coasters on the Amusement Today Golden Ticket Awards Top Steel Roller Coasters list for 2012, five of which are listed in the top 10. They have more top-ranked steel roller coasters than any other ride manufacturer on the list.

As of 2013, B&M has more than 85 roller coasters operating worldwide, including Diamondback at Kings Island and this year’s sensation, GateKeeper at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio.

The construction of Banshee is currently underway in the Action Zone area of Kings Island. Park visitors can see the ride being built from the ground up with great aerial views and photo opportunities available from the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower on International Street. Those who cannot wait until 2014 may take a virtual ride on Banshee at visitkingsisland.com/banshee.

Kings Island is owned and operated by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, a publicly traded partnership that is listed for trading on The New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “FUN.” In addition to Kings Island, Cedar Fair owns and operates ten other amusement parks, four water parks, an indoor water park, and five hotels. Cedar Fair also operates the Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park in Gilroy, Calif. under a management contract.